Arieh Levavi (3 June 1912 – 1 February 2009), also known as Aryeh Lieb and Arieh Leibman, was the fourth Director General of Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs (1964–1967).

Early life

Levavi was born the youngest of three sons to a wealthy Russian Jewish family of good standing in the community and a lineage connected directly to the famous Rabbi the

Vilna Gaon Elijah ben Solomon Zalman, ( he , ר' אליהו בן שלמה זלמן ''Rabbi Eliyahu ben Shlomo Zalman'') known as the Vilna Gaon (Yiddish: דער װילנער גאון ''Der Vilner Gaon'', pl, Gaon z Wilna, lt, Vilniaus Gaonas) or Elijah of ...

(הגאון מוילנה) in

Vilnius Vilnius ( , ; see also other names) is the capital and largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the municipality of Vilnius). The population of Vilnius's functional urba ...

Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...

, in 1912. Levavi's mother fled with him and his brother to Danzig on the eve of the Russian revolution. Orphaned of both parents Levavi's education and were taken care of by his older brother Fima Leibman. He completed his studies in philosophy, mathematics and physics at the universities of

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; Palatine German: ') is a city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914, of which roughly a quarter consisted of students ...

and Danzig in 1930.Arieh Levavi – Curriculum Vitae
/ref> After graduating he emigrated from Germany to Palestine, where in 1932 he received his Master of Arts in Philosophy, at the

Hebrew University of Jerusalem The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; he, הַאוּנִיבֶרְסִיטָה הַעִבְרִית בִּירוּשָׁלַיִם) is a public research university based in Jerusalem, Israel. Co-founded by Albert Einstein and Dr. Chaim Weiz ...

. He worked as a contributing writer for the daily newspaper

Davar ''Davar'' ( he, דבר, lit. ''Word'') was a Hebrew-language daily newspaper published in the British Mandate of Palestine and Israel between 1925 and May 1996. It was relaunched in 2016, under the name ''Davar Rishon'' as an online outlet by t ...

in Palestine, until he was sent to Germany on a mission on behalf of the HeHalutz Movement (1936–1938). When he came back to Palestine in 1938 he became involved in integrating and coordinating various Zionist and political movements until the formation of the state of Israel.

Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs

After the formation of Israel he became the Head of Eastern Europe in the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He was the first secretary and then counselor at the Israeli embassy in Moscow (1948–1950). In 1952 he became the director of Israeli diplomacy for Eastern Europe. From 1954 to 1957 he was the elected

Minister Plenipotentiary An envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary, usually known as a minister, was a diplomatic head of mission who was ranked below ambassador. A diplomatic mission headed by an envoy was known as a legation rather than an embassy. Under the ...

of Israel to the Yugoslav government.

Ambassador to Argentina

In 1958 he was appointed ambassador to Argentina. He served as the ambassador during the capture of

Adolf Eichmann Otto Adolf Eichmann ( ,"Eichmann"
''

Director General of Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Levavi served as director of Israel's Ministry of foreign affairs next and stood at the helm of the ministry during the delicate period around and including the Six Day War.

References

External links